Dear Friends of CIHF,

While eagerly waiting for Spring to arrive, we are enjoying a busy semester planning future events. We are particularly excited for the approaching Nature, Health, and Wellness Roundtable scheduled to take place April 25 and 26, 2019. Read more under Upcoming Events.
We also want to congratulate Brooke Hollis and Nikita Sarkar for being awarded Faculty Scholarships, and Neil Rajput for garnering a Student Scholarship from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) in order to attend the 2019 NIC Conference, which took place in San Diego this year. 

We are happy to announce more good news: this past December, Brooke Hollis was named Professor of Practice in Policy Analysis and Management. We are thrilled that Brooke's years of hard work, dedication, and leadership are being recognized. Congratulations Brooke!

As Nikki Cerra, our new Program Manager, and Ellie Valenzuela-Mendoza, our new Program Assistant, continue to settle into their positions, the Institute is preparing for another change: Rohit Verma has accepted a position as Founding Provost of VinUniversity. While he will be missed, we have no doubt that this new institution will greatly benefit from Rohit's experience and dedication. See below for more on this exciting development.
 
 As always, thank you for all you do to support this important work!
CIHF Leadership Team
Improving service excellence in healthcare, senior living, and wellness related organizations
Teaching | Research | Engagement | Membership
NEWS
Rohit Verma Appointed Founding Provost of VinUniversity in Hanoi, Vietnam
Rohit Verma is the Dean of External Relations for the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Singapore Tourism Board Distinguished Professor in Asian Hospitality Management at the School of Hotel Administration (SHA), Professor in Operations, Technology and Information Management area, and serves as a Governing Board member for the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures.
Last March, Cornell announced a collaboration with Vingroup – Vietnam’s largest property developer – to establish a world-class teaching and research institution that will focus on the areas of: business, hospitality and real estate, engineering and technology, general education, public health and health services, nursing, and medicine. Professor Verma will be taking a three-year leave to assume the position of Founding Provost of VinUniversity beginning July 1, 2019. He will, no doubt, bring his outstanding experience to this new position.

Professor Verma has published over 75 articles in prestigious academic journals and has also written numerous reports for the industry audience. He regularly presents his research, participates in invited panel discussions, and delivers keynote addresses at major industry and academic conferences around the world. He is co-author of the Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st Century textbook, and co-editor of Cornell School of Hotel Administration on Hospitality: Cutting Edge Thinking and Practice, a professional reference book that includes works of several of his colleagues at Cornell.

He has received several research and teaching awards, including “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Production and Operations Management Society’s College of Service Operations; several “Industry Relevance” awards from Cornell Center for Hospitality Research; “Masters’ Core Class Teaching Award” from Cornell School of Hotel Administration; “Skinner Award For Early Career Research Accomplishments” from Production and Operations Management Society; “Spirit of Inquiry Award”, the highest honor for scholarly activities within DePaul University; and Professional Service Award from the David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah. His research articles have received “Jack Meredith Best Paper Award” from Journal of Operations Management and “The Most Influential Service Operations Paper Award” from Production and Operations Managements Journal.

Professor Verma was instrumental in the creation of the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures and the Institute has – along with Verma’s many Cornell communities – benefited significantly from his expertise and support. We thank Rohit for his years of service and wish him the very best as he prepares to embark on this new venture!
U.S. News & World Report names Sloan Program #9 and Health Policy and Management #6 
2018

The Sloan Program in Health Administration, one of Human Ecology’s Policy Analysis and Management (PAM) programs and a core part of CIHF, was pleased to be ranked in the top ten by US News in its latest Best Graduate Schools edition. 
This is in part a reflection of the efforts of a number of deans, department chairs, program leaders past and present, students, faculty, and many other alumni board members, volunteers, executives-in-residence who have all combined to make this Sloan Program ranking possible.
Another very strong ranking is #6 in Health Policy and Management. While technically this is a specialization of the MPA/public affairs area, officially the “CIPA” program, another part of Human Ecology and close collaborator with Sloan/PAM, it is believe that the ranking for the specialty area of Health Policy and Management came in so high because of the combination of the high quality Sloan and PAM faculty who publish in top health policy, health economics, and other journals—combined with the other excellent CIPA faculty, and Cornell’s other health-related resources. 
Great to see what appears to be the impact of the combined PAM/Sloan and CIPA/other Cornell faculty to the Health Policy and Management specialty that was also highly ranked in addition to Sloan being in the top 10. Our unique Institute likely also played a role in the recognition by US News of Cornell’s excellence in these areas of health management/health policy.
Outstanding Research Paper
Seniors Housing and Care Journal
Volume 26 Number 1, 2018

CIHF Faculty Fellow and Professor of Human Development, Karl Pillemer and his team have been awarded Outstanding Research Paper by the editors of Seniors Housing and Care Journal . Their work, "Partners in Care in Assisted Living: Fostering Cooperative Communication Between Families and Staff," looks at the relationships between a patient's family and staff, proposing new methods that will decrease the strain that often arises between these two groups. Their research was made possible by a recent ASHA grant. Congratulations Professor Pillemer!
LTC & Senior Living CXO Summit
February 7-8, 2019
Orlando, FL

Rohit Verma was asked to be the keynote speaker at this year's LTC & Senior Living CXO Summit. He spoke on the need to redefine the customer experience.
CIHF NIC 2019 Spring Conference Reception
February 20, 2019
San Diego, CA

CIHF hosted a reception for Institute affiliates and Cornellians who attended the NIC Spring Conference, a three-day conference focused on senior housing and healthcare collaboration. It was nice to gather together, connect or reconnect as it may be and discuss potential collaborations and future endeavors.
Brooke Hollis, Moderator for the
Cornell Club of Northern New Jersey:
Health Care Entrepreneur Panel
February 26, 2019
Jersey City, NJ

Brooke Hollis moderated a panel featuring Cornellian CEOs from four health startups. The discussion centered on methods the alumni employed to build their companies, processes of entrepreneurship as well as the realities of working at a startup company in healthcare.
CIHF Roundtable: N ature, Health, and Wellbeing
April 25 and 26, 2019
Cornell Botanic Gardens, Nevin Welcome Center
Ithaca, New York
The Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures Spring 2019 Roundtable event will cover topics ranging from how interactions with nature can positively impact a person's well-being to how landscapes and cities can be designed to foster human and nature connections, while improving quality of life.
Presenters and attendees will bring together diverse disciplines including academe; the design, healthcare, and hospitality industries; the non-profit sector; and government. The Roundtable will take place at the beautiful Cornell Botanic Gardens on the Cornell campus. The first half of the day focuses on the most current and innovative research about impact of nature on health and wellness in a variety of areas, including senior living, acute care, and community settings. Two sets of short presentations by Roundtable presenters will address the State of the Science and the State of the Practice. After lunch, working groups, facilitated by the morning’s presenters, will focus on critical topics such as future research; translating research into practice; education; policy; and establishing the business case. Working Groups will summarize their findings as we set an agenda for future action. Among the events this year will be a student presentation board competition on the importance of access to nature on health, a reception the evening before, and a midday break involving a mindfulness walk in the Botanic Gardens.
 
Location
All events are located on Cornell University Campus in Ithaca, NY
Welcome Reception Thursday April 25:       Statler Hotel, Taylor Room
Roundtable April 26:                                            Cornell Botanic Gardens Nevin Welcome Center
 
Draft Schedule Overview
Thursday, April 25 th
Event: Welcome Reception
Location: Statler Hotel, Taylor Roo5:30 pm -7:30 pm                  
Student competition presentations and socializing
 
Friday, April 26 th
Event: Nature, Health and Wellbeing Roundtable
Location: Cornell Botanic Gardens Nevin Welcome Center
7:30 am – 8:15 am                   Networking Breakfast and Registration
8:15 am – 8:45 am                   Welcome and Introductions
8:45 am – 10:00 am                Current State of the Science
10:00 am – 10:15 am              Break
10:15 am – 11:30 am              Current State of the Practice
11:30 am - 11:45 am               Assemble Working Groups
11:45 am - 12:15 pm              Mindfulness Walk in the Cornell Botanic Gardens
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm                Lunch with Working Groups
1:15 pm - 2:15 pm                   Working Groups continue
2:15 pm -2:30 pm                   Break
2:30 pm -3:30 pm                   Reports from Working Groups
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm                  Next Steps, Closing Remarks

Check our website for updates.
 
CIHF Nature Innovation Challenge for Students
February - April, 2019
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
Teams of 2-3 students are invited to design a healing or therapeutic space or feature located on the Ithaca Cornell campus to promote nature in healthcare services.

Each team will choose a specific healthcare service and location for the therapeutic intervention that best supports a particular student-patient population's wellbeing through connection with nature.

Prizes:
$750 first prize
$500 second prize
$250 third prize

Registration opened in February. Finalists will present to industry and academic judges at the Nature, Health, and Wellness Roundtable Reception on April 25, 2019, from 5:30-7:30.

For competition guidelines or questions, email Nikki Cerra at [email protected]
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SLOAN Event:
Reception at ACHE
March 5, 2019 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Holland & Knight, LLP
Chicago, IL
During this year's American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) conference, the SLOAN program hosted an Alumni & Student Reception. Attendees enjoyed mingling and sampling an array of beverages and hors d'oeuvres at the prestigious firm of Holland & Knight.
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WX: New York Women Executives in Real Estate
Panel Discussion
March 11, 2019 4:30 to 6:30 PM
Statler Hall, Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
WX, in association with the Cornell Center for Real Estate and Finance and Cornell Real Estate Women, presented WX: New York Women Executives in Real Estate Panel Discussion. WX is an invitation-only association of executive-level women actively engaged in the commercial real estate industry in New York. WX’s diverse membership includes owners, developers, brokers, architects, engineers, bankers, and lawyers. Distinguished executives from the association shared their experiences and strategies for achieving success, as well as some of the unique challenges they have faced as women working in the industry.

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HEC Conference
March 14-17, 2019 
94th Annual Hotel Ezra Cornell
Finding Synergy
Beyond the Lines of Traditional Hospitality
In today’s modern landscape, hospitality is everywhere. The concept of service is now manifesting itself in surprising ways across industries from technology to healthcare and everything in between.

This year, HEC examined the ways that hospitality infuses itself into other industries and breaks the boundaries of what is considered “traditional”.  The program highlighted unexpected mergers, uncommon combinations, and the synergy between service and the rest of the world. They explored how the hospitality industry is doing more for its guests, society, and the environment outside of conventional expectations.

Leading the conversation as a keynote speaker was Mrs. Valerie Ann Wilson, the founder, owner, and CEO of Valerie Wilson Travel. Also presenting was Zain Ismail, Senior Consultant, Strategic Support Services at Henry Ford Health System, who spoke about how hospitality leads to healthcare innovation.
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CIHF@Cornell Minors Fair
March 19, 2019 4:30-6:30 pm
Ithaca, NY
HR in Hospitality Conference & Expo
March 25 - 27, 2019
Las Vegas, Nevada
From March 25 to 27, the Cornell Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations will be leading the 13th Annual HR in Hospitality Conference at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas. We are busy planning the content and every other aspect of the event, more details coming soon! 

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CIHF Panel @ Entrepreneurship Celebration
Health and Hospitality Innovation: International Applications
April 12, 2019
Ithaca, New York
CIHF will host a panel discussion at the annual Entrepreneurship At Cornell conference. The topic will be around international examples and strategies for implementing hospitality in healthcare organizations. The panelists will also be asked to comment on design and infrastructure issues in implementing programs internationally. 


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4th Annual Titans of Real Estate
April 19, 2019 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Cipriani, 42nd Street, New York City
Join us at Cipriani, 42nd St, in New York City on Friday, April 19, 2019 from 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. for the Fourth Annual Titans of Real Estate, hosted by the Center for Real Estate and Finance at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. Richard Baker ’88 of Hudson’s Bay Company will step out from behind the podium this year to participate as a panelist with Ken Himmel ’70 of Related Urban to share their perspective on mixed-use properties and redevelopment. Audience members will be treated to a rare look inside the planning, design and construction elements of these self-sustaining cities within metropolitan areas around the globe. Marty Burger, P ’17 and P ’20, CEO of Silverstein Properties, Inc. will moderate the much-anticipated event. Registration information can be found at the event website.

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Corporate Membership

Composed of senior-level leaders in industry from around the globe, Advisory Board members are representatives from Corporate Members. This diverse network collaborates with CIHF academics on projects and initiatives with a focus on integrating the fields of hospitality, health management, policy, and design.

Advisory Board members participate in bi-annual meetings and conferences, as guest lecturers, speakers, and mentors to students, and as collaborators with Cornell faculty, researchers, and student groups. Membership provides a platform for industry professionals to connect, build lasting relationships, and collaborate across academia and business.



CIHF affiliates with Faculty Fellows from various Cornell colleges and departments, Industry Scholars from corporations and nonprofits, and Visiting Scholars and Academic Scholars from other academic institutions. Affiliates participate in collaborative activities, lead research or curriculum projects, provide feedback on strategic priorities, and create industry-focused deliverables that link hospitality, health, and design.

We are pleased to welcome new affiliates who recently joined CIHF.      
Catalina Hoffman Munoz-Seca, Founder and Chairman of the Hoffman Group
Catalina Hoffmann is Founder and Chairman of the Hoffmann Group, a group of companies designed to, inspired by and focused on the management of preseniors and seniors’ wellness and health. Through the brands “Vitalia Day Centers” (Hoffmann Clubs), “Hoffmann Home”, “Hoffmann Training” and “Vitalia NESS” (Senior Wellness), the Group addresses three client archetypes: Social Elders, Elders with some pathology and Fragile elders. The motto Come age with us. A life experience from 60 to 100 brings a new approach to this life phase. Catalina holds a degree in Occupational Therapy with a Cognitive Stimulation specialization and has graduated from the IESE Business School, University of Navarra, in Management Development.
I n order to provide a differentiated answer to senior needs, Catalina Hoffmann created in 2003 the Hoffmann Method. The Hoffmann Method is a rehabilitation and preventive treatment method with physical,cognitive, psychologic al and social benefits. Registered as a scientific work in intellectual property, the Method provides treatment programs in all adult life stages delivering a customized treatment for each individual. The digitalization of Hoffmann Method through its technological platform demonstrates that monitoring the maximum details of the evolution of our seniors is possible in a quick and very efficient way.

Catalina has positioned herself as a professional reference in the field of the elderly due to her career as an entrepreneur and as a creator of the Hoffmann Method. Her continuous innovation in the method development provides a full range of new treatments, permanently updated which become the state-of-the-art of the elderly therapies giving constant new answers to new and old problems that arise from aging.

For years she has collaborated in different media and has participated in more than a hundred congresses, and seminars in Spain, Chile, Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, India, Portugal and Colombia.

“I have dedicated more than 20 years in developing a method that has changed the way we age and care. I have struggled to educate everyone around me on how to treat seniors with respect and care and now I am proud to say that I have touched many lives and I have improved the quality of living of more than 120.000 seniors that have come to us this past 15 years." - Catalina Hoffmann
SPOTLIGHT ON GRADUATE STUDENT JOSEPH DE LOS SANTOS
Joseph De Los Santos travelled across the country to continue pursuing his passion for discovery and innovation regarding the patient experience. Joseph earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Health Sciences with a minor in Medical Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. He then worked as an assistant to C-Suite executives at Comprehensive Pharmacy Services and, for 2 ½ years, he was the Clinical Regulatory Research Coordinator in Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care at UC Irvine Health. His journey in the healthcare field brought him to Cornell in 2017.
Joseph is currently a second-year graduate student working towards a master’s degree from the Sloan Program in Health Administration and is the Course Assistant for the Seminar, “Health, Hospitality, and Design.” Joseph’s commitment to scholarship and relationship-building was obvious from the start of his academic career at Cornell. Not only is he the President of the Healthy Futures Graduate Club, he headed the effort to create the club, providing a dedicated space for connection and discussion amongst the CIHF graduate student population. According to Senior Advisor, Brenda Smith, “Joseph is an incredible advocate for Healthy Futures, the Sloan program, and Cornell. He has consistently acted as a point of contact for prospective students and as a mentor to other students in the club. He is unfailingly positive and always willing to help with events. His cheerful professionalism has contributed greatly to the culture of the Institute.”

Joseph’s professional engagement is impressive in scope. This past summer he worked at Quality and Operations support at the Permanente Medical Group of Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California as a Senior Consulting Associate Intern. This past academic year, Joseph engaged two CIHF sponsors to form fall and spring consulting project courses that explore health, hospitality, and design. He has participated in various case competitions and hackathons, winning the CIHF 2018 Digital Transformation Hackathon as well as the HIMSS 2018 Student Case Competition with a patient-centric recommendation. Joseph is known at CIHF as a steady volunteer for events and activities. In fact, he played critical roles at the April 2018 Symposium and October 2018 Roundtable.

Joseph’s professional ethics and contributions arise from his belief that in order to create a system of kind and compassionate care, it is critical to engage stakeholders to value hospitality, health, and design. He is confident that cultivating patient involvement, through a mix of digital and physical touchpoints, will lead to more meaningful interactions between patients and providers; this will, subsequently, increase patient’s desires to be active participants in their health management while improving overall delivery of care.

Joseph’s passion and dedication will soon bring him full-circle. Following graduation in May, he will enter the Shield Emerging Leader Program at Blue Shield of California in San Francisco. Although his Cornell community will miss him greatly, we are all very proud, and have no doubt that his intelligence, ethics, and dedication will serve him well in this new chapter. Congratulations Joseph and best of luck!
SPOTLIGHT ON INDUSTRY SCHOLAR
Naomi Sachs PhD, MLA, EDAC
Congratulations Dr. Sachs! Naomi Sachs will be joining the faculty at University of Maryland as an Assistant Professor in Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture this fall. Currently, Naomi is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis here at Cornell University. Her recent projects include design research of mental and behavioral health environments; study of undergraduate students’ experiences with nature; evaluation of healthcare gardens; and studying the correlation between urban greenspace and violent crime.
Naomi also is Founding Director of the Therapeutic Landscapes Network , co-author with Clare Cooper Marcus of the book Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces , sits on the Nature Rx@Cornell Steering Committee, and is Editorial Assistant for Health Environments Research and Design (HERD) Journal.

Naomi has been a strong supporter of CIHF, presenting on the topic of landscapes for wellness and health in our Spring Seminar Series, and most recently co-chairing with Mardelle Shepley our Spring 2019 Roundtable Nature, Health and Wellbeing . While we will miss Naomi’s presence here on campus, she will continue to be an integral part of CIHF as an Industry Scholar. We are looking forward to what she accomplishes next and wish her the best in her new position!
CIHF + DEA Minor in Healthy Futures
CIHF and the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis offer a minor in Healthy Futures open to all Cornell undergraduate students. This innovative minor— the first of its kind — provides a high caliber, trans-disciplinary education in the fields of health, hospitality, and design, and may be of particular interest to students enrolled in health, wellness, policy, and hospitality related majors, or students interested in applying their education to problem-solving in the population health and wellness space.

If your organization is interested in sponsoring a three week or longer internship for CIHF minor students, please contact us at [email protected] to learn more.

Innovating Wellbeing in Hospitality
Caitlin McKenna, Senior Director of Strategic Innovation Delivery at Hilton Worldwide , gives a talk at the CIHF seminar course (HADM/DEA 3033/6055). The speaker series provides an unique opportunity for students to learn from industry leaders.

CIHF CornellCast Videos
View 39 informative, forward-thinking, engaging interviews with industry leaders in health, hospitality & design, and roundtable discussions. CIHF CornellCast Link

CIHF Webinar Series eCornell Channel
Innovations in Health, Hospitality, Design, and Senior Living features webinars by Cornell faculty speakers on CIHF Innovations in Health, Design, and Senior Living. eCornell Subscription Link
Caitlin McKenna, Senior Director, Hilton Worldwide, CIHF Advisory Board Member